"If we went through another year with Jose coming off the bench and getting limited playing time, we're hindering his development. We felt it would better for him — short term — to get himself on a team that was likely going to play him a lot more," said Gavin Wilkinson, Timbers general manager. "In a year's time, he could be back in Portland or we could've sold him. The door is still very wide open."

The acquisition of the 30-year-old Fernandez represents the latest stop in the Timbers' search for a high-profile, high-scoring forward. It's a search that has been ongoing — Jorge Perlaza, Kris Boyd, Ryan Johnson, Frederic Piquionne, Maximiliano Urruti, Valencia — since the Timbers joined MLS in 2011.

With the 2014 season set to begin in less than two months, on March 8, Wilkinson and Portland coach Caleb Porter hope they have found their man in Fernandez, nicknamed "La Gata" (The Cat).

"He's technically very good on the ball. He's crafty and can create something out of very little," Wilkinson said. "When he's got the ball in and around the box, he creates space for himself. It's the little things that he does that makes a difference. He's a guy we can go to and he can make a difference for us."

Fernandez, who last played with Estudiantes de la Plata in Argentina, did not score in 23 appearances with the team last season. But he did score 21 goals in 93 appearances after joining Estudiantes in 2010.

Terms of the deal were not announced, but published reports say that the Timbers signed Fernandez to a one-year contract with an option to extend the deal, and that the Timbers paid Estudiantes $500,000.

Fernandez is expected to occupy a starting spot, but he'll get competition from fellow countryman Urruti and the newly re-signed Piquionne. The Timbers don't expect Johnson, who scored nine goals during the 2013 season, to return as he is pursuing options overseas.

The addition of Paparatto, 30, adds depth at the center back position. Paparatto had played with Club Atletico Tigres in Argentina's first division since 2007, and he has appeared in more than 100 games with the team. Paparatto was selected as the team's captain prior to the 2013-14 season.

"In the air, he's a strong player. We're a relatively small team, and that leaves ourselves open on set pieces and with teams that play direct," Wilkinson said. "With Norberto, he gives us that height in the back but we don't compromise or lose the ability to play."

Paparatto fills the void created by the trades of David Horst (Houston) and Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Chivas USA) in December. The Argentine joins a veteran center back group that includes Pa Modou Kah, Futty Danso, Mikael Silvestre and Rauwshan McKenzie on the roster.

Note: The Timbers also signed defender Bryan Gallego as a homegrown player. The Timbers acquired the rights to the 20-year-old from the New York Red Bulls as part of a trade that sent Kosuke Kimura to New York in December, 2012. Gallego played under Porter at the University of Akron, marking another former Zips player — Darlington Nagbe, Steve Zakuani, Ben Zemanski, Michael Nanchoff — joining the roster. …The Timbers possess six picks in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, with the first two rounds of the four-round draft starting at 9 a.m. Thursday. The final two rounds will be conducted Jan. 21.